Sparks Fly
by Kaista Miher
Summary: Summary: Lisa Snart is used to being alone. She's grown accostomed to taking care of her little brother, Lenny, all by herself. So when she goes in to deal with a situation with her brother at school, she doesn't expect her life to change. Then she meets Cisco Ramon, Lenny's third grade teacher...
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Lisa Snart has been called in to deal with yet another problem at school caused by her younger brother, Lenny. She's about to meet his third grade teacher, Mr. Ramon...

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to DC Comics and Greg Berlanti. This incarnation belongs to me. I'm making no money off of this.

Lisa Snart trudged into Lenny's school, General Eiling Elementary, still wearing her uniform from work, a button-up white blouse and light blue pencil skirt, her apron wadded up in her purse. The shoes she wore for work were killing her. She'd only just gotten off her shift when she'd gotten the call that Lenny was in trouble. Again.

As much as Lisa desperately wanted her brother not tend up like their dad, it's was becoming increasingly more difficult to hope for that.

It wasn't even Lenny's fault. He'd always been a bit small, and other kids liked to pick on him. And he wasn't going to just lie down and take it, so he got into fights.

The fact that the one kid who stuck up for him, Mick Rory, joined in the fray every single time didn't help matters. The boys drove her crazy. The one saving grace for them is that this was the first time it happened this year, so she hoped his new teacher would be lenient.

She'd yet to meet Mr. Ramon, but it was only a matter of time. She'd had to become very familiar with both his first and second grade teachers, and she just knew this would be a pattern.

Hopefully, the man was far more understanding than Ms. Waller. She didn't know why that woman was teaching first grade, but she was obviously in the wrong line of work. She was better suited for something more... militaristic.

She walked the halls, finding the third grade wing after getting a little lost. She'd had to work when Lenny had back-to-school night, so while she was familiar with the layout in some parts of the school. Lenny's new class was a little harder to locate.

But, finally, she found the room, with big, bright letters proclaiming it to belong to 'Mr. Ramon'. There were all kinds of little gadgets and funny figures all around the room, some cartoon characters, some not. Sitting right outside of it was her brother, looking sulky and defiant. Like always.

Sighing inwardly, she walked forward and knelt down in front of Lenny. "Hey, bud," she said.

He gave a nod, still not looking at her. "Hey."

"Back here again," she said, taking his hands. "When do we get to stop doing this, huh?"

He shrugged, as if he had to real answer. Which, he probably didn't.

"Where's your teacher?" She asked, feeling as if they'd had this conversation a million times. Maybe it hadn't been a million, but it certainly could have been, for how much time she'd spent at the school for her brother's sake.

She heard running footsteps behind her. "Sorry I'm late, had to take care of some business elsewhere." Lisa stood and turned to face the owner of the voice. It was a young man, about her age, and as his name suggested, he was Latino. He had on khaki slacks and a white button-down with a maroon vest on over it. He had on glasses and his dark hair was back in a ponytail. In her heels, she towered over him about two or three inches. He looked up as he put out his hand. "Hi, I'm..." He stopped, staring for a minute, then cleared his throat and tried again. "I'm Cisco Roman, I'm Leonard's teacher."

Lisa ignored both his reaction and Lenny's quiet moan at the use of his full first name. She was used to getting that reaction from men, and she knew her brother hated his name. "I'm Lisa Snart, Lenny's sister and legal guardian." She always tacked that on, because otherwise people asked where her father was, and at 24, she felt that she no longer needed her father for anything.

Particularly since he was in prison.

Mr. Ramon smiled. "Leonard has told me so much about you."

That smile... Lisa felt a thrill all the way down to her toes. It transformed his face, taking over half of it in transparent joy. She couldn't help smiling back. "Lenny actually talks about you, so I *know* he likes you." Lenny wasn't a big fan of school, in general, but he genuinely seemed to like Mr. Ramon, which was not typical for how he usually was about his teachers.

The laugh was even better than the smile. "That's good to know," he said. Then he nodded into the classroom. "I've already finished with Mick Rory's parents, so if you'll just come in, we can get this sorted out."

Lisa nodded, nudging Lenny before her brother would move, the boy grumbling the whole way. Which was normal, so she just ignored it.

It was the typical meeting. Lenny got picked on, he responded, then so did Mick, and now all the kids were in trouble. But most specifically Lenny and Mick, because they'd thrown the first punches.

"I do have a suggestion," said Mr. Ramon, going through same paperwork on his desk.

"And what's that?" She asked, nudging Lenny to sit up straight.

"Well, Lenny's grades are some of the best in the class, but he tends to get bored easily." In response to that, Lisa nodded. Her brother was probably a genius, she just never had the money to get him tested. "I was thinking we could move him into the advanced group. They're still in with the rest of the class, they just get some more advanced coursework and will sometimes sit apart from the rest of the class. It could lead to getting into similar programs even going into middle and high school, facilitating perhaps his entry into college later on."

Lisa had sudden visions of Lenny graduating valedictorian and going to some Ivy League school and getting.a degree, going places she could only dream of, visions that had her nodding... only to see Lenny vehemently shaking his head, looking as stubborn as only he could look. If there was one thing he'd gotten from their father, it was an iron will rivaled by none.

"No!" He said, his arms crossed, his chin jutting out.

Lisa turned to look at him, stunned. "But Lenny!" She said, one hand on the back of his chair, the other holding her purse in her lap, "Think about it! You won't be so bored, and you can get away from all kids that are bugging you half the time."

Again, he shook his head.

"Why?" She asked. Well, maybe she was demanding to know. But it didn't make any sense. "Why don't you want to do this?"

Lenny looked up at her in exasperation, as if he couldn't believe he had to spell it out for her. "Mick," he said succinctly.

Lisa felt her heart sink.

Of course.

Mick would never receive the invitation just given to Lenny.

He wasn't stupid, just... slow.

Certainly not on Lenny's level.

If Lenny went into the advanced group, he wouldn't be sitting with Mick, the one person in the class, aside from the teacher, who seemed to care about him.

"I know you don't like him," her brother told her, his look taking on a beseeching that she couldn't ignore,"but he's my friend. Besides," he made a different face then, one of disgust, sticking out his tongue, "most of the kids in that group are stuck up nerds."

Lisa did her best to hold back the giggle that brought forth. She looked at Mr. Ramon, who was trying to appear sympathetic, though was clearly having to bite his own tongue, the corners of his mouth twitching. "Perish the thought," she said, her fingers playing with her brother's hair at the nape of his neck.

Mr. Ramon cleared his throat. "Well, we can still have him do the coursework, perhaps as homework, and he can turn it in separately. I really feel he would benefit from participating at least that much."

Lisa nodded, looking down at her brother. "What do you think? Sound fair?"

Lenny thought about it, then shrugged. "I guess," he said. The way he said it made her think it was more than okay. He was simply trying to play it off, not get too excited. As if it wasn't 'cool' to get excited about school stuff. When she gave him a hug, he protested. "Lise! Not at school!"

She laughed. "Sorry, forgot my boundaries," she teased, leaning back in her chair. Then she looked back at Mr. Ramon, who was smiling again, putting her in a good mood. But then she remembered. "We still have a problem," she said.

The teacher nodded. "I'm talking to other parents later this week. The problem I'm having is that, aside from isolating the boys, I have no way to control the interaction aside from warnings, and I can't be around all the time to watch them."

Lisa sighed. That was pretty much the best she could hope for. "Okay."

Mr. Ramon nodded. "So, I'll see what I can do about that, and make sure Lenny gets the coursework for the advanced group. Sound good?"

Lisa nodded. At last, it felt like things were progressing with her brother. "Sounds good to me." She looked down at her brother. "You okay with that, Lenny?"

Lenny nodded, then, after prodding from Lisa, he lifted his head. "Yes." He added, a little more quietly, "Thank you, Mr. Ramon."

His sincerity proved to Lisa that he liked Mr. Ramon. Not much pulled that from him, and even with the things that did, it wasn't very often. She nudged the middle of his back. "Go get your stuff, bud."

Her brother got up and went to do as he was told. Lisa stood up and so did Mr. Ramon. "Thank you," she said, putting out her hand for him. "I really appreciate everything you've done for him."

The teacher took her hand, and she felt a shock go through her at the contact. He seemed to feel it, too, taking a moment to respond. "Of course. I-I would do anything for my students."

Lisa nodded, and they reluctantly let go. She smiled at him. "Thank you," she said. "This is the best experience I've had yet with Lenny's teachers." She felt awkward, which didn't normally happen with men. She knew how to handle them. She had to. She had Lenny to think about. But Mr. Ramon wasn't like any man she'd known.

She was used to men who were only really after one thing. Being a waitress, and alone, she attracted, and knew she attracted, predators. There were those that only wanted her body. There had even been one that had been after Lenny. She'd only left the laundry room for a minute...

She shuddered. The man had thought she'd be gone far longer, and she'd come before anything could happen to her brother, but to this day, he wouldn't go back into that room. Not that she could blame him.

So, when the teacher cleared his throat, she knew what he was going to ask. She could feel it.

"I hope you don't think I'm being too forward," Mr. Ramon said, "but... are you seeing anyone?"

She gave him a wry smile. "I don't usually date," she told him. It was time for her line. Her go-to whenver anyone asked. It was for the best, really. For everyone. "Dating... it's not fun, anymore. These days, it's less about me," she looked at her brother, fiddling with one of the little figures around the room, a small robot by the looks of it, attached to a small box with a gun in it's hand, "and more about him. It's... hard to explain." She looked back at the teacher. "It feels like less of a date and more like... a job interview. Like I'm looking for a dad for Lenny. So even if I like the guy," she shook her head, "I always have to think about if he's good enough for Lenny. Most of the time, the answer is no."

Mr. Ramon took a step towards her. He wasn't trying to intimidate. He was too small and unassuming for that to work, anyway. No, more it seemed like he wanted to know more, and maybe getting closer to her would help. "And when it's yes?" he asked.

Lisa had a feeling, with this man, that might be the case. But... "I haven't really been proven right on that score, before," she told him. "I guess I've stopped trying." Not for anything would she reveal what almost happened to Lenny. Not only would that be bad for her brother, but if the wrong person heard, and reported it... she could lose him. And that was the very last thing in the world that she wanted.

"I see," he said, looking down. She could tell he was disappointed. Maybe a little frustrated. She knew she was being difficult, but... she couldn't help it. She loved her brother. If that meant sacrificing her love life, so be it. Finally, he looked back up at her, that smile back on his face, though it didn't reach his eyes like it did before. "Well," he said, "if you decide you're accepting resumes again," she laughed, "feel free to let me know."

Smiling again, she felt she could agree to that. "Okay," she said. "Deal." Then there was a small noise off to the side, and they both looked at Lenny.

He was still in front of the figure. He got it to work, somehow, she supposed, because now there was white mist coming from the gun. Lenny put his finger in it and pulled it back, his smile satisfied. "Cold," he said.

Both adults went over to where he was, and Mr. Ramon took a closer look at the robot. "Wow," he said, "he got Captain Cold working!"

Lisa laughed again. "Captain Cold?" she asked, incredulous. It was cute, in a nerdy kind of way.

"Oh, Lise, it's so cool!" her brother enthused. "See, the little box has some dry ice, and a little dripper with a supply of water. When the water drips down, the mist comes out of the gun." True to his word, the mist seemed to come out in puffs. "Only it jammed up during class, so Mr. Ramon couldn't use it. But I found the kink in the hose. It was too long."

"He's right," said the teacher, chuckling. "Though I'll have to bring in more dry ice tomorrow, this should work for the lesson tomorrow." He put out his hand. "Good job there, Leonard! That was a big help!"

Lenny seemed to flush a bit, unused to praise from a teacher, Lisa knew. "Thank you, Mr. Ramon." he said, shaking his hand. "Just seemed like I knew what the problem was." Again with the shrugging. Lenny wasn't modest, far from it. He just didn't like to be singled out. A relic from living with their father.

She was doing her best to rid him of that. She put her hand on his back. "You did great. Grab your bag," she said. He did so and she turned putting out her hand for the teacher once more. "Thank you, again. You don't know what this means to me."

Mr. Ramon returned the gesture, and the spark was still as strong as before. But she was ready for it, this time. "No trouble. Like I said, I'd do anything for my students." His next smile looked more genuine. "And I meant the other thing. My offer still stands."

Lisa smiled back. "I'll remember." she said. "Have a good day, Mr. Ramon."

"You, too, Ms. Snart." There was a little wistfulness in his tone.

As they left, she couldn't help but wonder if she couldn't maybe have given him more of a shot. But she mentally shook her head. It was for the best.

"What did he mean, 'the other thing'?" Lenny asked.

"Grown up stuff," she told him, escorting him to their car. It was second-hand, but it ran and had all it's seatbelts. That was all she cared about. Even if the red looked more rust by the day.

He asked you out, didn't he?" Lenny asked as he climbed into the passenger seat, tossing his backback into the back.

Lisa gave him a look. "So what if he did?" she asked, fitting him with the seatbelt. She'd gotten one of those seatbelt adjusters that fit over the belt, so that her brother didn't get strangled with it every time he got into the car. She just had to fiddle with it to make it work. "What's it to you?"

Again, another patented Lenny shrug. With a sigh, she shut his door and went around the car, getting in on the other side. As she started the car, he spoke again. "He's cool. You know, for a geek."

Lisa laughed. "I like him better than your other teachers," she conceded, moving to get out of the parking lot. "He's nice."

Lenny nodded. "Good," he said, looking out the window.

Lisa pulled out into traffic, letting a few minutes go by before she gave voice to her suspicions. "Lenny?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Are you... trying to play matchmaker? Between me and your teacher, I mean?"

The Shrug was now accompanied by a blush. "Maybe," he mumbled, moving as if to disappear into his seat.

Lisa sighed. "Lenny. You know better."

"I know you don't date," he said. "And I know why. Just... I thought you'd like him. He's really nice, and you guys are both the same kind of old."

Lisa snorted. Any adult, to her brother, was 'old'. Then... she paused, stopping for a red light. She looked at Lenny. "Len? Did you get in trouble so I'd **have** to meet your teacher?"

He gave his own snort. "What? No! I wouldn't do that!" Another pause, then... The Shrug. "They were bugging me. I defended myself. Like normal."

Lisa wasn't so sure about that. Like Mr. Ramon had said, Lenny was one of the smartest kids in the class. If he thought getting in trouble meant Lisa would meet his teacher...

She sighed, but let it slide. She had to admit, it wasn't the strangest thing he'd done.

She just hated to disappoint him.

Good things never happened to them.

She was better off forgetting about Mr. Francisco Ramon.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Cisco Ramon fell back onto his bed, exhausted after a long day. Teaching third grade was tiring, but rewarding.

In more ways than one.

Pulling out his phone, he called his best friend and old college roommate, Barry Allen.

He heard Barry speak up. "Allen."

Cisco put a hand through his hair. "Hey, dude, it's me."

"Hey, Cisco!" There were more sounds from the other end of the line. Barry couldn't sit down without jostling or knocking over his stool at work. The latter happened half the time. "What's up?"

Cisco smiled a bit. "I met a girl," he told him.

Barry, seemingly, could not resist this opening. "Dude, I've told you before. You might like the height differential, but all those girls are a little young for you." Cisco routinely had at least one girl in his class who had a crush on him, every year. This year it was Kendra, and as always, he did his best to not encourage it.

Cisco laughed. "Shut up." Barry chuckled over the phone. "No, I'm serious. My juvenile delinquent finally got in trouble today, so I had to call in his sister."

Barry made a noise of commiseration. "Lasted a whole six weeks. Must be some kind of record."

Cisco had his own theories on that, but they could wait. "She's beautiful."

"The sister? What's she look like?"

Cisco thought back on the dream woman he found outside his classroom. "Thick, wavy brown hair. Big blue eyes. Curves for days." He sighed, happily. "Good to her brother. Responsible. Warm and loving."

"Real honest of you to start with what you noticed first." That made Cisco laugh. "How old is she?"

"About our age." Cisco told him. This time, his sigh was less happy. "There's a problem, though."

"Boyfriend?" Barry asked. "Girlfriend?"

Cisco chuckled at the second question. He supposed it was fair, in this day and age. But, "No, neither of those."

"Just not interested?" Barry sounded sympathetic.

"That I could deal with better," Cisco said. He was used to rejection. He was 'adorable', but 'adorable' wasn't going to secure him too many dates. "No, she just doesn't date, period."

He heard a thud, which told him that Barry had set the stool back on all four feet. "At all?"

Cisco shook his head, even though his friend couldn't see him. "Says it feels more like a job interview, because of Leonard."

"Aaaah," said Barry understandingly. He knew a little something about that.

When Barry's now wife, Iris, had been in her sophomore year of college, she'd lost her father, Joe, to a heart attack. Her mother, Francine, had died a few years earlier, giving birth to a late-in-life baby Joe named Wally. That left Iris to care for her four-year-old brother by herself.

While Barry had been raised with Iris from the age of 11, he'd never been formally adopted, so there has been no legal way for him to help her gain custody. Not that, with his own father (wrongfully) in prison for murdering his mother, it would have helped. He'd offered to marry her then, anyway, to make things look better for Child Protective Services, but she'd refused. A marriage born out of desperation wasn't something she wanted for herself, or Wally.

Fortunately, she'd gotten a hold of the trust her parents had put in her name when she was young the minute she turned 21 and was able to gain custody of her brother through sheer force of will, it seemed. This cost her a lot, time, energy and a number of her friends who hadn't known how to deal with her new role as mother to a young boy. Some stayed, but as Iris once put it, she wouldn't force anyone to help with her new responsibility. It wouldn't have been fair to any of them.

It had also curbed any new romances she might have had. Very few men were willing to be an insta-dad, and that was precisely what they'd be doing with Iris. Though it was admittedly more grief over Joe's death that had caused his partner, Eddie Thawne, to transfer to another branch than any fear of parenthood. He eventually wound up marrying someone else, and Iris took Wally to the wedding. There were no hard feelings, there. (Barry, himself, had shown up alone, though he'd had fun showing Wally how the chocolate fountain worked.)

Barry had to be patient for a while, but he eventually got Iris to agree to go out with him, and they'd married after Wally turned 6. It had taken that long to convince her it wasn't just because he wanted to help with Wally, but because he genuinely loved her, and had since the day they met. Iris was now heavily pregnant with a set of twins, a boy and a girl. Nicknamed the Tornado Twins because they kept bouncing around inside of her almost constantly.

Barry bemoaned what this meant when they actually arrived, but Cisco could tell his friend was in heaven. Not only was he married to the woman of his dreams, but she was having his children, and they were already raising a family together. It was all Barry had ever wanted.

Cisco wondered if he could do what Barry had done. It was a lot to take on, but if it was for the right girl? He could see himself doing it.

Now, if only the girl was inclined to let him try.

"Yeah," he said. "Nothing sucks more than to be rejected because of frustration with the process."

"I'm sorry, man," Barry told him. "I mean, at least Iris wasn't against dating, period. I had something of an 'in'. Though it didn't always feel that way," he admitted with a laugh.

"As to that," Cisco said, "I don't think it's entirely hopeless."

"Oh?" asked his friend, curiosity obviously piqued.

"I think her brother is trying to play Cupid," Cisco told him, playing with his tie.

"...whaaat do you mean by that?" Now Barry sounded confused. "The way you've talk about him... I mean, no offense to the kid, but he doesn't seem like the type to be doing things like that. And how?"

Cisco chuckled. "Oh, I think Leonard would surprise you. He's not a bad kid, he's just been dealt a bad hand. I think, given the right opportunity, he could better himself. It's just his friendship with Mick Rory that's keeping him from moving forward. Mick's the only kid in class who'll stick up for him," he explained, "so he doesn't want to leave him behind."

Barry made a sound of understanding. "That makes sense. So what makes you think he's playing Cupid?"

Cisco folded an arm behind his head. "I think he got in trouble on purpose today."

A beat. Then, "Really?" The forensic pathologist sounded intrigued. "Go on."

"Well," Cisco sat up, starting to gesticulate as if his friend could see him, "Leonard's been doing really good all year, right? I mean, all six weeks so far. And I know he's put up with a lot. I've had to defuse some situations, but all in all, he's been doing really good. But today, when my back was turned, I heard a cry behind me, and the next thing I knew, he and Mick were in a brawl with three other boys. I had to wade through a few other kids to go break it up."

"All right," said Barry, seeming to follow along. "So why was that significant?"

"Leonard's not a loud kid," Cisco told him. "At most, when I talk to him, he'll grunt and maybe I'll get a few words. Occasionally, he'll get really excited and actually expound on what got his attention." Like earlier, he reflected, when he told his sister all about Captain Cold. "If he'd really wanted to stay out of trouble, he would have made sure to keep it on the DL."

"You're sure about that?" There was a bit of doubt in his friend's voice.

"Positive," Cisco asserted. "The cry I heard was him. Pretty sure he wanted to get my attention." He paused. "I thought it was nothing at the time, but when I was pulling him away from Hartley Rathaway, he seemed... almost pleased. The look was gone a moment later, so I thought maybe I'd imagined it."

"That does sound fishy," Barry conceded. Sounds came from the other side of the phone that told Cisco his friend was getting back to work. "Anything else?"

Cisco grinned. This part was the best part. His most vindicating evidence. "When I was talking to him about the fight, he seemed to be reciting his answers. As if he was following a script. Mick less so, but I don't think he was in on the plan. Leonard's been in trouble often enough, though, that I think he knew what I was going to say, and he tailored his responses so that it would net him the result he wanted."

"His sister in your classroom," Barry mused, and a machine turned on in the background. "Sounds plausible. What do you plan to do with this information?"

Cisco looked at his calendar. "Well, it's October. My annual classroom Halloween party is coming up."

"Mmm-hmm," Barry murmured, as if he'd been expecting it. "You want us to help with the cookies again?" When Cisco had started teaching, he soon realized he needed to have goodies for his class, and had enlisted the help of his friends in getting everything he needed. It was a fun time for all, and in the days pre-wedding, it had been a way to guarantee Barry had time with Iris and Wally without making it too obvious what they were doing. She was friends with Cisco, too. These sessions had also included Caitlin and Ronnie Raymond, another couple. Late night baking sessions were now a tradition.

"You know it," he said with a chuckle. "And you're welcome to come, you know that." He and Ronnie, who taught 5th grade, shared the cookies between them, and Caitlin, the school nurse, made sure to visit both rooms in costume for the kids. Since a certain Disney movie had come out, she'd started dressing up as Elsa. Ronnie had the right build as Klaus, and Barry and Iris always helped in his room when they could, though it might not happen this year, with Iris so far along. "I'd understand if it might be a bit much for Iris."

Barry snorted. "Yeah, I'd like to see you suggest that to her face." Both men laughed. Iris, even at her current size, didn't let anything slow her down. "I teased her about taking your place as Olaf this year, and her look said it all." Cisco hooted. "Never doing that again."

"Wise idea," Cisco told him. "But I was thinking, you know, when I make the announcement we need parents to volunteer to help us with the party... I could make sure to emphasize that all help was welcome."

"Thinking to nudge the kid?" Barry said. "Oh, dude, I'd pay to see that happen. But are you sure encouraging him is a good idea?" They spent so many nights in college talking about the ways teachers could get themselves in trouble, and a number of them had to do with the parents or legal guardians. "I mean, what if something goes wrong? I know it's not just the sister you like."

Cisco sighed. He knew his plan might end badly and damage his relationship with Leonard. He wanted so much for that boy to succeed. He was so smart, and talented. All he really needed was an outlet for his emotions, and while Cisco did the best he could, Leonard just didn't make it easy. He wasn't into music or art, and would only participate in class if a gun was put his head. When he was working with him one-on-one, that was when Cisco was most aware of his potential. That was when he saw what Leonard Snart could do with his mind and his drive... which made it all the more frustrating when he reverted back to the moody child he normally was later.

He knew why he did it. That didn't mean he had to like it.

"I know," he said on a sigh, falling back on his bed again. "Just... if I had some other choice, I'd take it, you know? If there were some other way to get to her. But while she works at a diner, she only works during the day, so she can be home with her brother at night." He and Leonard had talked about her before. "So this may be my only avenue."

"Sucks," Barry acknowledged, and a squeak told Cisco he was back on two legs with his stool.

"Tell me about it," Cisco told him, reaching down to take off his shoes, finally. He let them thump on the floor. Peeling off his socks, he said, "It's kinda demoralizing to think that the first chance I've had at a real date in a year or two lies with a 10-year-old. Who may or may not cooperate if he figures out what I'm doing." Which he might. The boy was, after all, a genius.

"I... thought he was all for you dating his sister," Barry pointed out, a sound indicating that he had once again set the stool down on all four feet.

"I never try to predict what Leonard might do," Cisco told him. "He might not be so cooperative once he knows I'm onto him and where will that leave me?"

"Good point," said his friend, and the whirring in the background stopped. The test he was running must have finished. "Well, I'll leave you to mull that over while I get back to work."

"Gotcha, bud," he said, sitting up to take off his vest. "See you guys the weekend before for cookies?"

"It's a date," came the response. "Good luck." Barry hung up.

Cisco got in early the next morning and replenished the dry ice in Captain Cold before getting the room ready for the day. He left a folder with Leonard's name on the tab on his desk, and headed off to the copy room to run off enough for the class to announce his need for adult volunteers.

When he came back, he found Leonard waiting. He was often early, and today was even earlier. Probably something to do with the hours his sister had to keep.

He was staring at the folder, looking like he wanted to grab it but didn't want to be too eager.

Cisco smiled. Same old Leonard.

"Good morning," he said, coming around his desk. 

The boy's hand had been inching toward the folder, but he snatched it back when Cisco spoke.

He looked up at him, then back down. "Hey."

Cisco inwardly sighed, hoping he could build some trust, there. He'd never hurt Leonard.

Picking up the folder, he handed it to the young boy. "Here." He waited as his student took it, then opened it. "That's the next assignment, and a few you never got from earlier in the year. You can have until Friday to have them done." It was Tuesday.

Leonard nodded, looking over the documents as Cisco put down the copies he'd just made and rummaged around his desk for a clip to keep them together until he was ready to pass them out.

Unaccustomed to hearing Leonard speak without being spoken to, he jumped a little when he was asked suddenly, "What're those?"

Cisco looked up and saw that he was looking at the handouts. "I'm looking for parents to volunteer to help out at the end of the month," he explained, keeping it as casual as possible. "We're having a Halloween party."

He saw a small light in the boy's eyes, which said boy quickly tamped down. It wasn't cool to show enthusiasm for a classroom party, after all. "Oh. Cool."

Cisco reached into one of his deeper drawers for his Tupperware container full of markers for the white board, and out of the corner of his eye, he watched the younger Snart.

Lenny was looking at the handouts through his hair, unzipping his bag.

Cisco watched with baited breath as he positioned the folder to go into his bag.

It was the longest minute of his life.

Then, slowly, making as little noise as possible, the boy reached out when he thought his teacher wasn't looking and took one, sliding it into the folder without opening it fully and sliding it into his bag as sounds came from the hall, voices of other kids coming in from the buses to take their seats.

Cisco didn't let out the breath he was holding until Leonard had turned his back.

No need to tip him off now that the handout was safely in his bag.

Waited for the boy to move.

Now it was safe.

Cisco took the container with him and moved to the front of the room. The kids liked to play with them, and as a result, he spent far too much money on dry-erase markers. So, he kept them in his desk.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as Leonard took a seat in back only after Mick had walked in, leaving a seat for his friend to sit next to him. They weren't technically separate from the rest of the class, but they might as well have been, with the way classroom politics had been working this year.

He did his best to keep from inwardly sighing. It wouldn't do him any good.

The rest of the class filed in. The boys who'd picked on Lenny, including Hartley, had been moved to separate seats throughout the room, in strategic spots that made it difficult for them to collude, even from afar. It didn't prevent all the problems he could have, but it kept them down to a number he could easily handle.

Hartley couldn't resist glaring back at Leonard and Mick before sitting down.

He was one of the more privileged students. Name-brand clothes, fancy backpack, the whole works. He had been in the advanced group, but his inability to work with a group caused Cisco to remove him early on. The boy hated him, but he'd been told that if he could prove he could behave, he'd be allowed back in. Grudgingly, Cisco admitted he was close to making that goal.

Much to the chagrin of all involved.

He watched as Kendra Saunders took her own seat, straightening what he presumed to be a carefully chosen outfit. He hoped to steer her toward a boy her age, and lucky for him, there was one in the class who already had a crush on her.

That boy was merely a few seats away, and Kendra definitely had his attention. Carter Hall was new to the school that year, and had a habit of following Kendra with his eyes. He'd talked to her a few times, but her preoccupation with Cisco meant she didn't pay the poor boy any mind.

Cisco hoped to change that for him by Christmas.

He wasn't normally in the habit of playing Cupid with his students, but if it made it easier for him to pursue something with Lisa, he'd do it.

Maybe he would have a present for himself by the holidays, as well.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Ms. Snart?"

Lisa looked up from the cookie she was decorating (or attempting to – the frosting seemed to hate her) to see Mr. Ramon trying to get her attention by the door. She couldn't quite see what he needed her for (the room mother dressed like a clown was carrying balloons as a part of her outfit), but she put down the plastic knife she couldn't get to work for her and stood, answering the call.

It helped that the teacher was dressed as Olaf. It was hard to be intimidated by a snowman.

Of course, it only made him more adorable. Which only gave her more butterflies in her stomach.

She just couldn't win.

Her own costume was cobbled together from an old skating outfit she had in her closet. Well, it was more 'inspired' by said outfit, after the outfit itself had been retrofitted into something for the club scene during her brief wild child phase. Instead of the (short) gold dress with gold wedges and make-up with gold detailing on the ears and tail, she was in ripped black jeans and a black t-shirt. The jeans had stripes of gold paint to match the gold scrolled words on the shirt that said, 'Good Kitty, Soft Kitty'. The shirt had a sweetheart neckline, which drew attention to the glitter on her collar bone.

Oh, and she kept the wedges, makeup and ears and tail.

She still got speculative looks from the other room mothers, but that could have been because when Mr. Ramon had seen her, it took him a minute to remember how to speak.

It wasn't at all revealing, though, so she honestly didn't know what their problem was.

When she got around the balloons, she saw a young woman, maybe a few years older than her, in a sleek brown business pantsuit, briefcase in hand, and long, silky brown hair that curled at the ends. Her makeup was impeccable, and Lisa knew that no matter how hard she tried, she'd never pull off the sheer amount of 'chic' that the other woman gave off. She was about to ask what the teacher thought she could do for her when she noticed the other 'accessory' hanging onto the woman's arm.

The little girl was blonde and blue-eyed, though that was virtually all she knew, for she was dressed like a ninja. The only things visible were her eyes and eyebrows.

Still the cutest thing on two legs, however. She reminded her a great deal of Lenny, who had insisted on dressing up like Captain Cold to Mick's firefighter.

"Ms. Snart," said Mr. Ramon, "I want to introduce you to Laurel Lance. She's just moved to Central City. This is her sister, Sara." He turned to the other woman. "This is Lisa Snart. Her brother, Leonard, is in my class this year."

Lisa felt an odd thrill at that phrasing. Even though she dismissed the idea of becoming involved with him, the idea that next year there wouldn't be any awkwardness at Lenny being his student was something she had to work to put aside as Laurel's eyes lit up

Lisa couldn't blame her. Part of her excitement was from finally meeting someone in the same boat she was. It proved that maybe they weren't that uncommon.

"OH! Hi." She put out her hand and Lisa shook it. It felt like something fell into place when they did that. "I didn't realize there would be anyone... like me, here."

Lisa laughed a little, the nerves she felt at meeting the woman starting to fade a little as their hands dropped. She started to appear human. "I didn't think so, either. I haven't met any before now."

"I probably shouldn't be so surprised," said Laurel with a nervous chuckle. "I came here for my job. I work in family law. I'm an attorney."

That explained her suit and briefcase.

Lisa's experience in family law was... complicated. While she herself was fortunate to have someone to help fight for her, the fact remained that her father's record and her own past as waitress in a strip club hadn't helped anything.

Some of that must have shown on her face, because Laurel rushed to continue. "I got into it after I got custody of my sister. My initial focus was going to be in pro-bono legal aide and criminal justice."

Lisa forced herself to shrug, though she didn't really feel it. "I got custody after my dad robbed one too many banks," she said. The look on Laurel's face became compassionate and sympathetic.

Thankfully, there was no pity, there. Lisa hated pity.

"Mine died in the line of duty," Laurel told her. "Mom couldn't get over it. I woke up one morning to find a note saying she needed to 'find herself'." This time, it was Laurel's turn to shrug uncomfortably. "I graduated with Sara on my hip. Best decision I ever made."

'In the line of duty...' Laurel was a cop's daughter. Lisa didn't have much time to think about this, because a little voice interrupted them.

"My sister's a dragon slayer," said Sara. Her voice was a little muffled under the mask, and she reluctantly pulled it down. "She uses a pen, though, not a sword."

Lisa found herself smiling, looking up at Laurel. The other woman looked a little embarrassed, but also proud. "She's watched me work. I can be a bulldog when I have to be."

One of the other room mothers called for Mr. Ramon. "If you ladies will excuse me," he said before hurrying way, his costume making it look as if he were shuffling. Lisa turned back to Laurel and they shared a smile.

"He seems nice," Laurel said.

Lisa nodded. "He's been really good to my brother," she said. "Not many teachers will do that."

"Sounds like a handful," said Laurel ruefully. She pulled Sara into her arms, hugging her. "I would know." She looked around. "Which one's yours?"

Lisa looked around and found Lenny by the cookie table. The hood of his parka was over his head, as if he were trying to hide. This was normal behavior, actually, which was why Lisa was careful not to get him a hoodie. She didn't want to encourage it.

"Right there," she said, pointing. "Lenny!" she called. Her brother looked up, scowling. She knew she was 'Mom'ing him, but she ignored the look. "Come here!"

With apparent great reluctance, Lenny got up from the table, making his way over to her.

"Ah, he's like that, huh?" Laurel said, her tone understanding. "I know a few of those."

Lisa nodded, looking at her in resignation. "I'm trying to help him, but he's stubborn."

Her new friend smiled. "That can be difficult."

Lenny finally got over to them, and she made the introductions. "This is my new friend, Laurel. And her sister, Sara."

Lenny tried not to show it, but it was obvious to Lisa. With those words, she had his interest piqued. Then, Sara looked up at him and...

Oh, there it was. There was no mistaking the spark between them.

Sara looked down, looking a little shy, but this time for a different reason than being new.

Lenny was turning a dull shade of red.

Lisa's eyes met Laurel's over their heads. She saw it, too. They looked back down at the interaction unfolding between them.

"Hi," said Lenny, his usual barely verbal self.

"Hey," Sara replied, giving him a smile.

That only served to make her brother blush harder.

"Hey," said Laurel, still cuddling Sara," why don't you guys go back to the cookie table? Lenny can show you how they're decorating them," she suggested to her sister.

Sara nodded, reaching out to Lenny as Laurel let her go. "You wanna?"

Lenny did a nod/shrug combo, but it was a rarely-seen shyness in the way that he pulled his hands out of his pockets to offer one to Sara, not reluctance as Lisa would have expected, that showed. The two women watched the two children walk toward the cookie table, and Lisa felt her heart clench when she realized she may have just seen her brother get his first crush.

She looked back at Laurel, who was fighting not to grin from ear-to-ear.

Lisa smirked. "My brother is almost 10, and he already has a girlfriend. When do we do The Talk?"

Laurel chuckled. "Hopefully not for a few more years. I'm not ready for that yet."

"Make way!" With a surprised look, the lawyer moved, a young black woman about their age coming in from behind her, carrying a large container filled with more cookies, balancing it on her large pregnant belly. "Coming through! Babies on board."

Lisa and Laurel exchanged a look. 'Twins?' Lisa mouthed. Laurel nodded, looking bemused.

They both watched as the woman, dressed as a reporter with the 'Press' badge in a front pocket now revealed after she deposited the cookies and notepad near her hip, greeted the other mothers and Mr. Ramon. They apparently knew each other well, exchanging an awkward hug around her swollen stomach. Then there were hurried footsteps from the hallway, and Lisa turned to see a young white man hurrying in. He was also dressed as a reporter, except that his button up shirt had been unbuttoned somewhere in the middle, revealing the front of a t-shirt that had the Superman 'S' on it. He carried a box full of more treats, glasses firmly in place. They would have to be, considering the hurry he was in.

"Iris!" He quickly moved over to where the newcomer had settled, near the art table between the cookie table and the teacher's desk at the back of the room. "Could you slow down a bit, babe?"

"Not on your life, Barry Allen!" came the reply, and he was soon divested of his load. One of the mothers, a woman dressed as a witch with an elaborate dress and plume on her hat, looked up and motioned to Lisa reprovingly.

"Oh, duty calls," said Lisa, cringing, looking back at Laurel guiltly.

"I'll help," said Laurel walking with her, putting her briefcase down next to the teacher's desk. "Not like I was going anywhere else today."

"I thought you were headed to work," Lisa admitted, taking a bowl of treat bags from the clown.

Laurel snorted. "No, from. My start date was a day later than I was told, so I'm feeling a little overdressed." She took a bag from the witch.

"Oh, that su-stinks," Lisa said, remembering just in time that she was in a classroom. With actual kids. Not that she wasn't careful about her language in front of Lenny, but... she felt more judged in the presence of women who were legitimately old enough to be moms third graders. "You could pretend it's a fancy costume."

Laurel chuckled. "Fake it til you make it, right?"

Lisa laughed, and they started passing out the bags.

The party went on, and the adults wound up to the sides of the room as the kids separated into groups. Lenny, Sara and Mick wound up in one such group. Mick wasn't left out at all, but it was obvious he was more or less playing pint-sized chaperon to the other two.

"He's very protective, isn't he?" Laurel asked, leaning over to Lisa. They were near the two mothers, though the couple was close enough to hear as well. "He hasn't been too far from your brother all day, except for when you called him over."

Lisa sighed. "He's been Lenny's only friend all year. I don't know why, they just seem to get along on some level. They do everything together."

Laurel smiled wryly. "Does that include getting into trouble together?"

Lisa chuckled. "I was in here to talk to Mr. Ramon last month," she confided, getting a chuckle from Laurel. She paused. "And a couple times in the meantime." More in the way of follow-up than anything else. Her eyes met the teacher's for about the fourth time that day, and once again, she looked way, blushing slightly.

Laurel noticed, and her smile grew. "Why do I get the feeling you made time a little more... readily, than you would have otherwise?" She dodged a swipe Lisa took at her with a laugh.

"It's not like that," she protested. She looked again to watch Mr. Ramon talk to a group of kids, one of them a cute little black girl with a white boy next to her. "Besides," she said with a sigh, looking back at her new bestie, "I'm not dating right now."

"Anyone?" Laurel asked. The conversation seemed to have gotten the attention of the surrounding adults and Lisa was uncomfortably aware of being the center of it.

Lisa shrugged. "It's not that fun, anymore," she said.

Laurel got a knowing look in her eye. "Because it's not just about you."

Lisa shook her head. She glanced over at her brother. He and Sara were playing with a top one of them had gotten in their bags. Mick spun his own and it collided with theirs. The kids erupted in laughter and set about making it into a game, seeing who could send whose top farther across the grouping of four desks.

"I find myself thinking about him more and more," Lisa said. She drew her gaze back to Laurel. "It feels more like a job interview. I have to know he's good enough for Lenny." Her mind went back to her last boyfriend, and she set her jaw. "He HAS to be good enough for Lenny."

"It's a high bar," Laurel confirmed, looking over at the kids herself. "It's hard, because so few are really good enough. And even if they are..."

"They have to want to be a father right off," Lisa finished, nodding. "Most of the time, they aren't."

Laurel nodded sagely. "Though that can come in handy, too."

Lisa smiled. "Yeah, there are some guys you want to drive off," she said, amused.

Both women laughed.

"So, what you're saying is," said the clown, "that it's a double-edged sword." She seemed a lot more charitable than before, though Lisa felt that might be because she knew Lisa wasn't trying to make a play for Mr. Ramon. At least, not overtly.

"There's good and bad to it," Lisa said, nodding. "And not many people understand what it's like, either." The two mothers nodded sympathetically. It occurred to her that perhaps they finally understood her. At least, they were willing to do so.

Laurel cleared her throat. "As to that," she said as Lisa turned back to her, "I might have something that could help you."

Lisa raised an eyebrow. Here it was. People who worked in family services always had something to offer. She wasn't sure whatever it was really helped most of the time.

But, Laurel was like her. So maybe she should give it a chance.

"What's that?" she asked.

"A friend of mine has a group here in Central City," Laurel said. "It's why I moved here. He needed someone to help with legal aide for it's members, and I didn't really have anything holding me back in Starling, so I came. It's called Taking Care of Our Own."

"Taking Care of Our Own," Lisa repeated, taking the card that Laurel handed her. It wasn't for the group, but for the coordinator, a social worker named Thomas Merlyn.

"Tommy started the group after watching a friend of his struggle with raising their younger sister." On Lisa's startled look, "It's a long story, and not mine to tell, but after seeing what Ollie had to go through, Tommy knew there had to be other people out there. So, he found a few, and started the group."

"TCOO is excellent," said Iris, speaking up for the first time. She pronounced it 't-coo'. "Barry and I have been going since it started."

Lisa blinked, surprised at this revelation. "You guys are members?" She assumed they were helping Mr. Ramon, with how close they seemed to him. She thought maybe the twins were going to be their first-borns.

Iris nodded, as did Barry. "We're raising Iris' little brother, Wally," Barry informed her, looking very proud of that. "Joe, our dad, died when he was four."

"'Our'?" Laurel asked. Clearly, husband and wife looked nothing alike.

Iris elbowed Barry, getting a small 'oof' for her trouble. "He was never officially adopted," she filled in, "but Dad fostered him from the time he was 11. He never treated us as siblings, though."

That made sense, in a way, and it was actually kind of sweet. They were picking up where someone left off. Lisa liked that.

It seemed a bit more... wholesome than her situation, anyway.

"They meet on Tuesday nights," Laurel told her, getting nods from Barry and Iris. "Free child care, and they have a worker for each group, both the kids and the adults."

"How many are there right now?" Lisa asked.

"About five, depending on the week," Iris said. "Most of the group consists of working single parents, Barry and I being the lone couple. So there are some weeks when not everyone can come." Lisa nodded. That made sense.

"How many kids?" she asked.

"Just the five," Barry said. "There's nobody taking care of multiple siblings... yet. Though obviously there are other ways to expand that number," he added, smiling down at his pregnant wife. She smiled back.

"When are you due?" Laurel asked, excited.

"Next month," Iris said with a sigh. "The doctor said to expect Thanksgiving babies, but I think they might be earlier than that." She rubbed her belly. "Just a feeling I get."

"Always trust your instincts," said the witch. "They're never wrong."

Just then, there was noise outside the classroom. It sounded like a lot of kids were coming their direction, and someone was playing 'Monster Mash' from their phone.

"Oh! Everyone get ready!" said Mr. Ramon, clapping his hands. "It's time for the Halloween Parade!"

Lisa looked at the two mothers, confused.

"Every year, the entire school has a parade to show off their costumes," the clown told her. "We need to put an adult every couple of kids, but it's really fun."

"I'm going to have to sit it out," Iris told them. "But you go ahead. I went last year, and she's right. It's fun."

Lisa suddenly found herself wrangled into position about four or five kids from Laurel, with Lenny in front of both of them. The parade moved around the room, walking or dancing around the perimeter before the class moved to join the end of it, Mr. Ramon taking on the far rear. They left Barry with Iris in the classroom.

Lisa was surprised to find a woman outside the room dressed as Elsa, handing out snow cones with the help of a swamp lady and a man in a beige trench coat, probably dressed as a detective. Lisa ignored him, feeling vaguely triggered thanks to her father, doing her best to concentrate on the kids.

The women had been right. It WAS fun. They moved through the school, picking up kids as they moved through their classrooms and the library, with the long line maneuvering through gym around strategically placed orange cones near the end. The parade had apparently started with the youngest kids, because their procession wound up going through the rest of the third grade wing into the fourth, then the fifth. She wondered if the Klaus in that wing was connected to 'Elsa'.

While they were in the gym, she caught sight of Mr. Ramon dancing... badly. She had to laugh. He was utterly adorable, and the more time she spent around him, the harder that got to be to ignore.

Lisa did her best to push that from her mind, and turned her thoughts to TCOO. She didn't know too many people like her, and making new friends had been hard for her the last couple of years. She was wary of new people in general, after essentially being abandoned by her old friends after gaining custody of Lenny and not knowing too many people outside work.

Maybe she could give it a shot.

She smiled at Laurel when they got settled back into Mr. Ramon's classroom, and the kids started to pack up their goodies to get ready to go home.

Maybe she could start trusting people again.

Besides... she looked over at Lenny, who was talking to Sara, looking sweet and shy in a way she hadn't seen him do in a long while.

Her brother could use more friends, too.


End file.
